Hehe...this is one hell of a chapter in my opinion. I suppose the next one might be more so, depending on how you look at it, but either way stuff is happening. How fun! Anyway...how's life guys? Frankly, I haven't much to talk about without spoiling the content of both this chapter and the next. That could be a good thing, though. Although I've gotten plenty of people saying they like these afore notes, some have wondered why they're so long. So I'll finish this one while it's shorter.

Without farther ado, I present to you Mockingbird chapter 13!

The dress Mami offered me consists of pale blue and white cloth, something surprisingly bright for her wardrobe. When I asked her why it was so different, she grumbled that she wore it to special occasions her parents dragged her out to. I didn't need her to again remind me that her parents are skeptical, to say the least, about her wardrobe.

I have to hold the hem of the dress up as I walk. Not only am I nervous about ruining such fine material, but I've never worn a long dress in my life! I haven't even left the apartment yet and I'm already tripping over it!

"You sure you don't want these?" Mami asks, dangling strappy black heels from her fingers.

"I couldn't walk in those," I excuse myself. Honestly, I probably could if I tried. It's not like they're all that high, but any lift that would make me unsteady wouldn't be good if I had to run.

"Fine." She tosses me reflective black flats instead, which I barely manage to catch. "Check to see if those fit."

I try them on. Like the dress, they're a tight fit, but nothing I can't handle. I'm used to wearing clothes I've basically outgrown. I take a peek in the hall mirror, brushing a stray strand of dark hair out of my face. Heck, is it my face? Voluptuous black curls, cat-eye eyeliner, rouge, lipstick...I look more like some high-class actress than a poor, single-parented teenager. I guess that's kinda the point.

"So, when're you gonna introduce me to the guy you're dressing up for?"

"Huh?" I turn away from the mirror. "No, it's not a date."

"Well, duh," she rolls her eyes. "No one dresses like that for a date! But there's a guy at the party you're going to, right?"

There's Uta, I suppose, but he only got his hands on my invitation. "He won't actually be there."

"Ah! So there is a guy!"

I wince. "Not like that."

"Whatever." Her tone makes it clear she doesn't believe me. "You look gorgeous. A real model. Now, you said the party started at seven, right?"

"Yeah."

"Get your butt out the door, then! You're gonna be late!" She shoves the purse containing my phone and gun into my hands and whirls me to face the door. Once I've opened it, though, she adds, "And, if you get the time tonight….could you maybe call Yui?"

I glance back at her. She acts indifferent, crossing her arms reclusively and tilting her head casually, but her voice hints to me that she's legitimately bothered. I promise, "If I have the time. What brought this on?"

"What brought this- Are you serious? Her best friend just up and disappeared on her for a month! Did you not consider how worried she'd be? This is Yui, for crying out loud!"

I purse my lips. Yeah...I hadn't considered that. Sure she's crossed my mind on multiple occasions, but I've been too wrapped up in...everything…to really contact her. "If I don't call her tonight, I'll get to it tomorrow. If she's really in bad shape, I'm okay with you telling her where I am. I'd just rather not get her mixed up in what I'm going through right now."

Sighing, she waves for me to leave. I do. At the entrance to the building I hail a taxi. The entire ride, I lean my head carefully against the window (trying not to ruin the curls) and gaze at the passing scenery. The world is dim tonight, despite the fact that the sun has still yet to set. Clouds coat the sky in streaks, catching the last colored rays of day and turning them grey.

Suddenly, I'm tired. It's not like I was exactly excited to go to the party tonight, but I'll admit I had been interested in the high-society celebration. But now I can't even bring myself to be intrigued. With every passing minute, the reality of the gun in my purse weighs down on me harder and harder.

Habitually, I go to rub my eyes, just barely managing to stop myself and save the makeup Mami so carefully applied. My stomach twists. How horrified would she be if she found out what I was really doing tonight?

Dread swells in my heart when the car pulls to a stop. I dig around for the cash in my purse and pay the driver, my movements sluggish when I go to exit the car. Even once I have, I stand for a minute with the door open as if I could get back in. As if I could turn around and just not enter the building, just not attend the party.

I slam the door, cringing. I hold the invitation in my hand as I approach the guard, handing it over for him to examine. Apparently not overly suspicious, he simply glances at the contents before handing it back to me and ushering me inside.

The room is filled with quiet chatter, and people dolled up in their nicest. Men wear suits, women dresses...all of it's clothes I would have never dreamed of wearing, and yet I'm one of the many dressed in fine fabric. I can't shake off the strange feeling that gives me. Stranger still is the fact that I'm heavily reminded of all the ghoul gatherings I've been to. The difference between those and this is slim. If this were a masquerade, I'd be unable to tell the difference.

A server offers me their tray of champagne, which I readily decline. I'm underage, after all. Instead, I make my way to the buffet to nibble on some delicate finger foods. I'm feeling far from hungry, but the fact remains that I skipped the dinner Mami had brought to the room earlier today. Who knows? Maybe having something in my stomach will help calm my nerves.

Or, I suppose it could also make them worse.

I stop after a few olives and opt for a small glass of punch as I watch the crowd. No one seems to have noticed I'm not supposed to be here yet. I scan through each person until I come across one I recognize from a picture Uta showed me. No, it isn't my target, but his wife instead. For fifty, she appears to be incredibly well off. Had I seen her on the streets I would have thought her in her early thirties, at most. Her outfit serves to make her seem even younger, though, the neckline of the pomegranate dress sitting low, and a sharp sliver slicing up the side to reveal almost her entire leg. Her hair is pulled only halfway up so her dark brown locks still fall over her shoulders and back. From this distance, at least, I can't make out a wrinkle on her face.

"Doesn't it make you jealous?" a young woman beside me pipes up, stealing a creampuff from the bar with her hot pink fingertips.

"She's certainly beautiful," I admit, eyes flitting away from her. I'm not quite sure how to interact naturally in this situation.

"No, not that," the woman shakes her head. Her dangling earrings jangle audibly. "I've got looks enough to keep me from drooling over her like certain other girls I know. I meant the party. It's not like she's some politician's wife or something, and yet she get's all this for her birthday. My husband would never do something like this! I'd have to throw it myself!"

"It's quite elaborate," I agree. "She must have a strong relationship with her spouse."

She snorts. "Hardly. They act like they are in public, but even now the guy's upstairs with his lover. It's hardly noble of him to keep up this act of dragging her along."

I blink. This is my first time hearing of this. "Dragging her along? Does she not know?"

"Hasn't the faintest idea." The woman licks a crumb off her fingers before pushing back a strand of brown hair that's fallen out of her updo. "She might be haughty and confident, but my sister's incredibly clueless about these kinds of things."

"I see."

"That lover, on the other hand, knows all about that bastard being married, and she screws him anyway! It pisses me off! I've been trying to find the right time to tell sis, but this is my first time seeing her since I found out. I can hardly do such a thing to her on her birthday! I'd be a monster!"

I almost laugh at her word choice. I'd so much rather break the news of her husband's affair on her birthday than do what I came here to do. I don't think I'd call a thing like she said 'monstrous'.

Huffing, the sister of the birthday girl snags another creampuff. "Guess I should apologize for ruining the party for you. Well, try to enjoy the rest of it if you still can." With a nod, she hops off to find her next victim to bug. As she's leaving, it occurs to me that I recognized her. I startle. That girl...is an actress in a popular drama, isn't she?

Ruffled by the thought, I absently grab a glass off the stray of a passing server to replace the punch I've finished. I don't realize it's alcoholic until I take the first sip, but I shake it off and continue to drink it. I've heard your moral compass tends to cloud when you've got alcohol in your system. If I'm lucky, maybe I'll be able to pull the trigger without too much guilt.

As I down the drink, my eyes wander to the doors leading to other rooms. That woman had said my target is upstairs, so where are the stairs?

Once I've finished my drink, I slip around the edges of the room and cautiously try every door to see if they're open. A few are, and I take a peek inside when they are. The first few I come across are storage closets, but as I'm opening the third one, a server approaches me and points me in the direction of the bathroom. I flush and thank him. When he's walked away, I check this last door I've found to be open.

Bingo.

After checking to see if anyone's paying attention, I slip inside and hurry up the staircase. As I go, I thank my foresight of forgoing the heels. My flats make noise enough. I slow at the top of the stairs, the quiet emphasizing the pounding in my chest. Am I really ready to do this? All on my own? Of my own volition? How am I going to get away? Sure, I have a silencer, but what about the lover I was told about? What do I do about her?

I remove the gun from my purse, attempting to ditch those thoughts as I listen for any signs of people. All I can hear is my own heartbeat. With every room I listen outside of, the sound reverberates louder in my ears.

Ba-dum….Ba-dum….Ba-dum...Ba-dum….

Someone snickers, and all of the sudden the noise in my ears is gone. My fist clenches around the handle of the weapon, and I freeze to listen again.

"Stop it! That tickles! Someone will hear us!"

Someone does hear them. Left hand secure around the gun, I reach with my right to grab the handle. Slowly, ever so snailily, I twist the doorknob. It's locked.

Slipping a bobby pin out of my hair, I set to work at picking it. Every time the pin clicks against the brass, I flinch, stopping to listen. When I'm sure they haven't heard me, I begin again. I continue this pattern until the lock finally gives. I slide the pin back into my hair and ready my gun. Then I think it over and lower the gun behind my back. I don't know about anyone else, but I would scream the moment someone with a gun burst into the room. It'd be disastrous if they got the attention of the people downstairs. Taking a deep breath in, I swiftly twist the knob and swing the door open.

The couple on the couch hurriedly separate, the girl grabbing a discarded shirt to cover her bare chest. Meeting my eyes, the guy demands, "Who're-"

He clams up when I yank out the gun. Panic has barely set into their features before the gun recoils, and the guy slumps forward onto the floor. The girl beside the corpse stiffens to scream, but the next second, she's limp against the armrest of the sofa.

I gasp, the firearm dropping out of my hands. I cover my mouth with both of my palms. My entire body quakes violently as I gape at the two bodies in front of me. She wasn't my target!

Why did I shoot her!?

Good job Kiyoko! You've completed your first independent job! You've also just killed two people, but... Anywho, it occurred to me just now that my last Tokyo Ghoul fanfiction actually ended at chapter thirteen. Here we are, and I don't even know if we're half way through yet! This story is beginning to get long! My recent stories have lately grown significantly from my earlier ones. They've been ranging from around 18 chapters to nearly thirty! Maybe it's just that I have more I want to write about. Or maybe I've gotten worse at compressing story lines. I hope that's not it. As for where this story is going, I've got an idea, but it's vague. It'll come together though, like it always does. I'm thrilled to figure it out with you guys!

Till then, Kisses from SnowyNeko! :3 MEOW!